A Jefferson County juvenile has been detained for allegedly threatening a shooting at Ridgewood Middle School in September, Sheriff Dave Marshak said today, Oct. 11.
The threat turned out to be a hoax, officials said.
Ridgewood Middle is part of the Fox C-6 School District and is west of the Arnold city limits.
In a statement about the investigation, Marshak did not provide information about the suspect. The Jefferson County Division of Juvenile Justice also would not provide information about the suspect.
The Jefferson County Division of Juvenile Justice has filed a petition against the juvenile for second-degree making a terroristic threat, a class E felony, Marshak said in the statement.
Melissa Perris, the chief juvenile officer for Jefferson County, said the suspect may be placed on probation with a juvenile officer or assigned to the Division of Youth Services.
She also said the offense is not certifiable, and the juvenile may not be tried as an adult.
The Sheriff’s Office statement said a student reported the threat on Sept. 17 to a school official, who contacted law enforcement authorities. The threat warned of a shooting that would happen that day at a specific time at the school.
Deputies secured the building, and detectives worked with the FBI St. Louis Field Office to trace the threat to a social media account, which allegedly belonged to the student who both made the threat and reported the threat, according to the statement.
On Sept. 16, Ridgewood Middle School Principal Courtney Meagher sent letters to families about the investigation in the threat. She reported in follow-up letters that the threats proved to not be credible.
However, on Sept. 17, Meagher sent letters again about a potential threat, and on that day, the school was in soft lockdown, limiting who could enter the school but allowing students to move freely throughout the building. After-school activities were canceled and multiple Sheriff’s Office deputies were on school grounds that day, according to Meagher’s letter.
Marshak said in his statement that the hoax required more than 40 hours of investigative work, which pulled deputies and detectives away from patrols and legitimate cases.
He also said it caused the school to go on lockdown, which disturbed the learning environment and caused fear and panic among students, parents, faculty and staff.
“We take these incidents very seriously because our students deserve a safe school environment,” Lt. Col. Tim Whitney, the undersheriff, said in the statement. “We will continue to investigate these cases to the fullest and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Make no mistake, school threats are not a joke. They carry serious consequences that can change the course of a young person’s life.”
Fox C-6 Superintendent Paul Fregeau said the district, which has schools in Jefferson County and the city of Arnold, works with local law enforcement agencies.
“Fox C-6 has a strong partnership with both the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the Arnold Police Department,” he said.
Fregeau also said Fox C-6 has a published and Board of Education-approved Code of Conduct for students that is followed when assigning discipline for school threats.
“Fox C-6 takes any threat of school violence very seriously,” he said. “Based on our Code of Conduct, we have issued more than 1,000 days of suspension in the last year.”